SimBaby robot baby helps train doctors and nurses

The world of robots have definitely advanced to a degree where surgeons and doctors are now able to perform their fair share of surgery and diagnosis without doing so on an actual patient. What about smaller sized patients like babies? Well, a SimBaby robot was recently purchased by the Neonatal Intensive Care Unit at Rady Children’s Hospital, where this life-like robotic child could be used to train doctors, nurses and therapists. The SimBaby is a $40,000 doll which is capable of simulating a wide range of medical emergencies, including the swelling of the airways, abnormal heartbeats and shallow breathing. Not only that, it opens up the door for professionals to practice basic to advanced procedures in order to better prepare them for real-life situations.

According to Dr. Charles Sauer, the director of simulation at Rady, there are plenty of benefits to having such advanced technology around, as he further elaborated, “Having a realistic simulator gives us the opportunity to be ready to have an emergency situation at any time. So if we are prepared with the simulator, then we are prepared for when it really happens in real life.”

This unique doll will “breathe” artificially, have its own heart rate, and will also be able to accept tubes and IVs in a place where a normal baby would receive them during administration of medicine and other drips. There will be monitors available that can record the simulations in order for trainees to go through the decisions they made earlier, alongside the side effects.